"restaurants of bizarre design--one like a hat, another like a rabbit"; "famed for his eccentric spelling"; "a freakish combination of styles"; "his off-the-wall antics"; "the outlandish clothes of teenagers"; "outre and affected stage antics"

eccentric, nonconcentric(adj)

not having a common center; not concentric

"eccentric circles"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

eccentric(Noun)

One who does not behave like others.

eccentric(Noun)

A disk or wheel with its axis off centre, giving a reciprocating motion.

eccentric(Noun)

A kook.

eccentric(Adjective)

not at or in the centre.

eccentric(Adjective)

not perfectly circular.

an eccentric or elliptical orbit

eccentric(Adjective)

having a different center.

eccentric(Adjective)

deviating from the norm; behaving unexpectedly or differently.

"The recluse has become really eccentric over the years."

eccentric(Adjective)

against or in the opposite direction of contraction of a muscle. (E.g. flexion of the lower arm (bending of the elbow joint) by an external force while contracting the triceps and other elbow extensor muscles to control that movement; opening of the jaw while flexing the masseter).

Antonym: concentric. Both concentric and eccentric are collectively referred to as isotonic, the antonym of which is isometric.

Origin: From eccentricus, from ἔκκεντρος, from ἐκ + κέντρον

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Eccentric(adj)

deviating or departing from the center, or from the line of a circle; as, an eccentric or elliptical orbit; pertaining to deviation from the center or from true circular motion

Eccentric(adj)

not having the same center; -- said of circles, ellipses, spheres, etc., which, though coinciding, either in whole or in part, as to area or volume, have not the same center; -- opposed to concentric

Eccentric(adj)

pertaining to an eccentric; as, the eccentric rod in a steam engine

Eccentric(adj)

not coincident as to motive or end

Eccentric(adj)

deviating from stated methods, usual practice, or established forms or laws; deviating from an appointed sphere or way; departing from the usual course; irregular; anomalous; odd; as, eccentric conduct

Eccentric(noun)

a circle not having the same center as another contained in some measure within the first

Eccentric(noun)

one who, or that which, deviates from regularity; an anomalous or irregular person or thing

Eccentric(noun)

in the Ptolemaic system, the supposed circular orbit of a planet about the earth, but with the earth not in its center

Eccentric(noun)

a circle described about the center of an elliptical orbit, with half the major axis for radius

Eccentric(noun)

a disk or wheel so arranged upon a shaft that the center of the wheel and that of the shaft do not coincide. It is used for operating valves in steam engines, and for other purposes. The motion derived is precisely that of a crank having the same throw

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Eccentric

In mechanical engineering, an eccentric is a circular disk solidly fixed to a rotating axle with its centre offset from that of the axle.
It is most often employed in steam engines and used to convert rotary into linear reciprocating motion in order to drive a sliding valve or a pump ram. In order to do so an eccentric usually has a groove at its circumference around which is closely fitted a circular collar attached to which an eccentric rod is suspended in such a way that its other end can impart the required reciprocating motion. A return crank fulfils the same function except that it can only work at the end of an axle or on the outside of a wheel whereas an eccentric can also be fitted to the body of the axle between the wheels. Unlike a cam, which also converts rotary into linear motion at almost any rate of acceleration and deceleration, an eccentric or return crank can only impart simple harmonic motion.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Eccentric

-al, ek-sen′trik, -al, adj. departing from the centre: not having the same centre as another, said of circles: out of the usual course: not conforming to common rules: odd.—n.Eccen′tric, a circle not having the same centre as another: (mech.) a contrivance for taking an alternating rectilinear motion from a revolving shaft: an eccentric fellow.—adv.Eccen′trically.—n.Eccentric′ity, the distance of the centre of a planet's orbit from the centre of the sun: singularity of conduct: oddness. [Fr.,—Low L. eccentricus—Gr. ek, out of, kentron, centre.]